PIEN HUANG, HOST:
Public school libraries all across Utah will look a little different this fall. The state has published a list of 13 books that are going to be removed from all the schools in the state. It's the result of a new law that was passed earlier this year. And, as NPR's Andrew Limbong reports, this is just the first batch of books being pulled.
ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE: Six out of the 13 titles on this first list are by Sarah J. Maas, the super popular romantasy (ph) author. The books in her A Court of Thorn and Roses series are mainstays of the best-seller charts and are all over the bookish side of TikTok.
GRETCHEN ZAITZEFF: It's not the right book for every student, but that's why we have 10,000 books in the library.
LIMBONG: Gretchen Zaitzeff is the president of the Utah School Library Association. Some of the other titles listed are Rupi Kaur's poetry collection "Milk And Honey," Margaret Atwood's "Oryx And Crake," Craig Thompson's coming-of-age graphic novel "Blankets" and Judy Blume's "Forever." They all in some way talk about romance or sex. But Zaitzeff says the sexual content is usually taken out of context.
ZAITZEFF: A lot of these decisions are being made without reading the book as a whole or without any considerations for the audience for which those books are written.
LIMBONG: Deborah Caldwell-Stone is the director of the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom.
DEBORAH CALDWELL-STONE: This is the first time that a state has issued a statewide book ban.
LIMBONG: The law works like this - if a book is found to contain, quote, "objective sensitive material" and is removed from either three school districts or two districts and five charter schools, it gets put on this big list for statewide removal.
CALDWELL-STONE: It really takes away the ability of local school boards to make different decisions for different students, different communities.
LIMBONG: Utah State Board of Education Communications Director Kelsey James sent an email saying these books met the statewide threshold and, quote, "the board is committed to following the law." Caldwell expects Utah's list of books to grow as a handful of districts deem more books as sensitive material. And she sees similar legislation being drafted in other states, such as Tennessee and South Carolina, going after similar books.
CALDWELL-STONE: The broad target is based on the idea that no one under the age of 18 should have access to materials that touch on sex or sexuality, gender identity or sexual orientation unless Mom and Dad give permission. And really what this means is that especially older minors who might need access to accurate information about these topics really have no self-determination. It really infringes on their ability to read and access materials that are important to their lives.
LIMBONG: Back in Utah, the rules state that these books must be, quote, "legally disposed of and may not be sold or distributed." Utah School Library Association President Gretchen Zaitzeff says all copies of the 13 listed books are in the process of being physically removed from library shelves. There's an appeals window, but if no action is taken, the books will likely be shredded and recycled. Andrew Limbong, NPR News.
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